Brake-head.



W. L. BUYER. BRAKE HEAD. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 29, 1913.

Patented Sept. 7, 1915.

- In vm tor: 75 n W Atty bv we ilo WARREN L. BOYER, 0F KINGSTON,

NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO BEMIS CAR TRUCK COMPANY, OF SPRINGFIELD,MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

BRAKE-HEAD.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. '7, 1915.

Application filed September 29, 1913. Serial No. 792,322.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WARREN L. BoYER, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Kingston, in the county of Ulster and State of New Yorkhave made and invented certain new and useful Improvements inBrake-Heads, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in brake heads, that is, to adevice designed to support a brake shoe in proper relation to the treador periphery of the wheel of a railway car or similar vehicle. In themanufacture of brake shoes and brake heads, it Was formerly the customto construct these two parts or elements in one piece, or in the form ofa single casting, the result being that when the body of the shoe hadbeen partially worn away in service, the remaining part of the casting,including the brake head, was scrapped, entailing a considerable loss.In the last few years, however, it has been the custom to make the headand shoe of separate parts, the head being secured to the brake beam,and the shoe in turn secured to the brake head, so that in the scrappingof the worn shoe the brake head is preserved for further use, exceptingin such instances where the head is worn and injured by coming intocontact with the tread of the wheel, due to the faulty brake rigging andthe resultant uneven wear of the shoe. In those instances where thewearing face of the shoe is not held parallel to the tread of the Wheel,one end of the shoe is rapidly worn away, the result, in many instances,being that this wear extends into the corresponding end of the brakehead, causing injury both to the head and the Wheel with which it comesin contact. In order to obtain the best results, therefore, and toavoid, as far as possible, injury to the wheel, and to secure thehighest elliciency in the brake head, it is essential that the latter bemade or cast from a ,metal which will withstand the great strainsimposed upon it, especially when applied to the heavy and fast runningtrains of the present day, and, secondly, to construct it of a metalWlllCll, should it come in contact with the tread of the wheel, will notcut or injure the same. It has been found that the use of common grayiron is impractical, owing to the fact that, in order to securesulficicnt strength in a cast iron brake head to resist fracture, thehead would have to be made entirely too large, as cast iron is not toughand is liable to be cracked or broken in service. Carbon steel has beenemployed in the casting of these brake heads, but it has been found thatwhen it happens to come incontact with the wheel it so cuts, scores andinjures the tread as to necessitate the frequentdressing of the latter.It has also been attempted to employ malleable iron in the constructionof a brake head, and while preferable under ordinary circumstances tocarbon steel, this metal has been found objectionable by reason bent,twisted or distorted, especially when heated by its contact with theshoe, or with the tread of the wheel, when the shoe is unevenly wornaway as above explained.

From frequent experiments, I have found that a brake head cast orotherwise formed from manganese steel overcomes all the ob jectionsheretofore urged against the use o other metals, in that it issuffieiently tough and strong to be capable of withstanding the highstresses and strains imposed upon it without the necessity of employinga large amount of metal in the construction thereof, and thereforelargely avoids any danger of cracking and falling apart when in use.Furthermore, when it becomes highly heated, due to the frictionalcontact with the tread of the wheel, it does not bend ,or distort, butrapidly disintegrates, while at the same time retaining its toughness,thereby avoiding any and all danger of scoring or injuring the wheel.

My invention therefore consists in a brake head, cast, or otherwiseformed from manganese steel, without reference to its particular type orpattern, that which I have shown in the drawing being such as isordinarilyemployed to support a brake shoe in proper relation to thewheel. This head is produced by well known processes, common in foundrypractice, and is illustrated as having a 10 igitudinally 'curved surface2, adapted to contact with the back of the shoe to be supported thereby,which curved surface is interrupted by a recess 3, into which the keylug of the shoe (not shown) extends. As is usual, a shoe is secured tothe head by a key or other fastening member, extending longitudinally ofthe head between the two rearwardly extending sides 4. thereof, the keypassing through an opening in the key of its liability to become lug ofthe shoe and through an opening 6 provided for it in the head. Therearwardly extending sides 4 are connected by a transverse wall shown at7 to thereby provide a bracket 8 whereby the head may be secured toa-brake beam, or equivalent support, the above-mentioned parts of thehead, with the other features thereof necessary or desirable to producea ractical brake head, being preferably ma e intlie form of a singlecasting.

As I have before stated, my invention is not in any wa restricted to theparticular construction, orm or structural details of the head, as suchare in no way involved therein, the gist of the invention lying in theemployment of a particular metal whereby to produce certain new results,in accordance with the particular use to which the device is put. Nor ismy invention to be restricted to'any particular composition of manganesesteel, as such may vary within the limits of what is well known andtermed by inetal-. 'lurgists as manganese steel, and wherein relativeproportions of iron, manganese, carbon, and the other constituentsof thesteel, may be varied, altered or changed within certain well knownlimits. On the other hand, it is intended that my claims shall includeand cover a brake head made of any and all metals, regardless of theconstituents thereof, and which can be properly included within the termmanganese steel as defined by metallurgists and those skilled in theart.

, Having fully-described and explained my invention, I-claim and desireto secure by Letters Patent:

1. A brake head adapted to support a brake shoe and formed of manganesesteel, which, when cold, and subjected to nornial conditions, is hardand strong, and which, under abnormal conditions and when contactingwith a car wheel, rapidly softens and disintegrates under the frictionalheat so generated.

2. A brake head adapted to support a brake shoe for contact with carWheels and made of a metal possessing the properties, that when cold itis relatively harder than the wheel tread, and which when subjected tothe influence of frictional heat by contact with the car wheel, rapidlysoftens and disintegrates, for the protection and preventing the scoringof, the said car wheel.

Signed at New York. borough of Manhattan in the county of New York andState -of New York this 19th day of September WARREN L. BOYER.

Witnesses:

MARY B. J USTIGE, R. W. FLINT.

